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Cliff Walters: Always in the bathroom when I get there.
Gregory Honay: Can never find a bathroom.
Ashling Flynn: Doesn’t go to the bathroom.
Stuart Carapola: Sleeps in the bathroom.
Now that introductions are out of the way, let’s get started.
September 13, 2008 – ROH/Dragon Gate
Eddie Edwards vs Yamato
Cliff Walters: Normally I would say that Eddie’s sole purpose in life is to put oer anything that moves, especially the outside talent, but with that win over Roderick, I think they’re actually going to try and do something with him, so I’m going to call for the upset win.
Winner: Eddie Edwards
Gregory Honay: Wasn’t Yamato the green guy that worked Pelle Primeau last year? He didn’t impress me very much, so I’d expect Eddie to go over as they continue to build him.
Winner: Eddie Edwards
Ashling Flynn: Is Larry Sweeney coming out to Japan, or is Eddie going to be on his own? I guess it really doesn't matter.
Winner: Yamato
Stuart Carapola: I really don't know much about Yamato except that he's a younger guy who's just in his first couple of years in the business, but since I think the ROH vs Dragon Gate matches other than this will mostly be dominated by the ROH guys, I think Dragon Gate needs at least one win so they don't look too bad.
Winner: Yamato
Final Tally: 2-2 tie
Austin Aries vs Ryo Saito
Cliff Walters: Like a lot of people, I usually feel like the Japanese wrestlers are going to go over on pretty much anyone they wrestle in ROH, but I also think Austin Aries is one of the exceptions to that rule.
Winner: Austin Aries
Gregory Honay: I really don’t have much to say about this other than I’m sure Aries will win.
Winner: Austin Aries
Ashling Flynn: This seems like one of those matches that's just thrown together to give Aries something to do on this show.
Winner: Austin Aries
Stuart Carapola: Austin Aries is going to mow through everybody en route to Steel Cage Warfare, and unfortunately for Ryo Saito, he's in Aries' path.
Winner: Austin Aries
Final Tally: 4-0 for Austin Aries
Naruki Doi, Masato Yoshino & BxB Hulk vs El Generico, Dragon Kid & SHINGO
Cliff Walters: This seems to me like one of those matches that’s just thrown together and expected to go out there and perform. Really it’s a pick ‘em, but I’ll go with Generico’s team just for the hell of it.
Winner: El Generico, Dragon Kid & SHINGO
Gregory Honay: I know this may not be a popular opinion, but these Dragon Gate six man matches always remind me of the luchador matches on Monday Nitro, they’re fun to watch but are completely interchangeable and you don’t get any real attachment with any of the wrestlers. I really don’t think it matters who wins, but I have to pick someone, right?
Winner: El Generico, Dragon Kid, and SHINGO
Ashling Flynn: What do you base your pick in a match like this on? Nothing is really going to be affected either way by whoever comes out on top, but since we're in Japan this weekend, I'll go with the team that doesn't include a North American.
Winner: Naruki Doi, Masato Yoshino, and BxB Hulk
Stuart Carapola: This is hard to pick without knowing more about the scene in Dragon Gate, but at the end, I feel like this will just be one of those six man matches that's there to put on a great show, but ultimately has no consequence. Therefore, I'll pick the guys I'm familiar with because it makes me feel warm and fuzzy.
Winner: El Generico, Dragon Kid, and SHINGO
Final Tally: 3-1 for El Generico, Dragon Kid & SHINGO
Roderick Strong vs Davey Richards
Cliff Walters: Tough one. I doubt this is the last time these guys will wrestle each other, but since Davey’s been in Japan all summer and they need to extend the feud for a little while, I’m going to pick him to win.
Winner: Davey Richards
Gregory Honay: They’ve wrestled before, and I’m pretty sure Roderick’s won most of those times. The war with Sweet & Sour will continue, but I think Davey Richards is just one of the steps in the overall feud, not the ultimate foe.
Winner: Roderick Strong
Ashling Flynn: These two are going to stiff the crap out of each other, and it will be awesome. Quick question: whatever happened to Rocky Romero?
Winner: Roderick Strong
Stuart Carapola: I think there's just as many reasons for each man to win as there are for each man to lose, but since this is going to be Davey's first match back in ROH after spending the entire summer in Japan, I think they need to give him a win to help reestablish him, albeit through some kind of chicanery.
Winner: Davey Richards
Final Tally: 2-2 tie
Nigel McGuinness vs Bryan Danielson (non-title)
Cliff Walters: What are non title matches for, kids? That’s right, telegraphing that the champion will lose from a mile away!
Winner: Bryan Danielson
Gregory Honay: I know that with this being non-title, it seems like a win for Danielson is a sure thing. On the other hand, I think it would be really cool to have Nigel get a cheap win and say that Danielson doesn’t deserve a title shot since he can’t even beat him non-title.
Winner: Nigel McGuinness
Ashling Flynn: Since this is non-title and Danielson is due a win over Nigel anyway, I'll go with Danielson.
Winner: Bryan Danielson
Stuart Carapola: I believe that Danielson picked up a win over Nigel in a tag match a few weeks ago, so I think he should probably beat him here as well and use it as a case to get another World Title shot.
Winner: Bryan Danielson
Final Tally: 3-1 for Bryan Danielson
World Tag Team Title Match: Jimmy Jacobs & Tyler Black vs Jay & Mark Briscoe
Cliff Walters: Bottom line, the tag title is Steen & Generico’s for the taking, and as great as the Briscoes are, I think it’s time for them to step out of the title picture for a year or so.
Winner: Jimmy Jacobs & Tyler Black
Gregory Honay: I don’t think the Briscoes are going to win here. I know they’re the dominant team in ROH and all, but I think that AOTF is holding the title for Steen & Generico.
Winner: Jimmy Jacobs & Tyler Black
Ashling Flynn: I don't see the Briscoes getting the title back anytime soon. I really feel like they need to start establishing other teams besides them as championship caliber, so leave it on AOTF until they can move it to Steen & Generico or Ruckus & Jigsaw. Okay, I was just kidding about Ruckus and Jigsaw.
Winner: Jimmy Jacobs & Tyler Black
Stuart Carapola: I wrote earlier in the week that other than Nigel McGuinness, Age Of The Fall has been the central focus of ROH this year, and not only do I think their title run is going to last at least a little while longer, but also I think it would be a mistake to have them suffer a big loss like this leading into Steel Cage Warfare.
Winner: Jimmy Jacobs & Tyler Black
Final Tally: 4-0 for Jimmy Jacobs & Tyler Black
September 14,2008 – ROH/Pro Wrestling NOAH/Kensuke Office
First, a note I’d like to make. I hate to disappoint anybody who relies on our expert insight into professional wrestling, but none of us watch any Japanese wrestling, so we really didn’t think we had anything intelligent to offer on the Eddie Edwards vs Kazushi Miyamoto, Taiji Ishimori vs El Generico, or Yoshinobu Kanemaru vs Bryan Danielson matches. We’re all pretty well in agreement, though, that Danielson isn’t winning the GHC Junior Heavyweight Title. We apologize for our ignorance, and would now like to move on to the stuff we can answer.
Jay & Mark Briscoe vs Takeshi Morishima & Davey Richards
Cliff Walters: I hate to say it, but I’ve got the Briscoes going 0-2 this weekend. I don’t think they’re going to win the title from Age Of The Fall, and I also don’t think they’re going to beat Morishima on his own turf.
Winner: Takeshi Morishima & Davey Richards
Gregory Honay: I pretty much feel like Richards is in this match to take the fall. You know Morishima’s not getting pinned by the Briscoes and you know the Briscoes aren’t going the whole weekend without a win, either.
Winner: Jay & Mark Briscoe
Ashling Flynn: Going to be a tough weekend for Davey Richards and not a good return to ROH, because I'm thinking he's going winless this weekend, and I sure don't think Morishima's taking the fall in this match. I think it would be funny if Richards smarted off to Morishima and Morishima just laid him out and walked off, leaving him alone to get beaten by the Briscoes.
Winner: Jay & Mark Briscoe
Stuart Carapola: This is going to be an amazing show, and it just shows how strong a lineup it has that this match is listed this far down on the card. I think Morishima's been out of ROH for a while and needs to pick up a win in order to stay strong instead of falling into the “guy who used to be unbeatable, but now only comes in for special appearances†trap.
Winner: Takeshi Morishima & Davey Richards
Final Tally: 2-2 tie
Austin Aries vs Tyler Black
Cliff Walters: Can you say MOTYC in the making? They’ve wrestled before and the results were nothing short of spectacular. Tyler Black will get another shot here to show that he can hang with the main event crowd. Will he win, though? Not so sure about that.
Winner: Austin Aries
Gregory Honay: The match they had at Unscripted III was awesome and was done on just a few hours’ notice. I think they’ll do even better this time out. I would say this has the potential for match of the night, but with such a strong card I can’t say that for sure.
Winner: Austin Aries
Ashling Flynn: I think Tyler should win here, for two reasons. The first is that it would help throw some more fuel on the fire going into Steel Cage Warfare next week. The other is that if they're serious about eventually pushing Tyler as a main eventer, they really need to start giving him wins over other top guys instead of just having him look good but ultimately lose.
Winner: Tyler Black
Stuart Carapola: These guys have shown, between singles and tag matches, that they can have an amazing match together. I think that even though there's a chance Tyler might win to put a little bit of a question mark on the outcome of Steel Cage Warfare, Aries will still probably win.
Winner: Austin Aries
Final Tally: 3-1 for Austin Aries
Kensuke Sasaki vs Roderick Strong
Cliff Walters: So is the GHC Title going to be on the line in this match? That would be nice, but won’t change the outcome of the match. Sasaki’s going to eat Strong for breakfast.
Winner: Kensuke Sasaki
Gregory Honay: Obviously Roderick’s not winning here. I think since Sasaki is the GHC Champion that the title ought to be on the line here, but whatever.
Winner: Kensuke Sasaki
Ashling Flynn: Oh, this is going to be fun. Roderick's totally overmatched here, and there's no chance he's ever going to win, but what they can do to get something out of this is make Roderick look like a tough guy by taking all of Sasaki's best stuff and keep kicking out before finally going down in defeat.
Winner: Kensuke Sasaki
Stuart Carapola: I hope this isn't just used as a showcase for the new GHC Champion to show his stuff, but I don't know if I see Roderick getting a whole lot of offense. I do think Roderick will show how strong he is by taking a ton of Sasaki's offense before going down in defeat, but he's obviously losing here.
Winner: Kensuke Sasaki
Final Tally: 4-0 for Kensuke Sasaki
Naomichi Marufuji & Katsuhiko Nakajima vs KENTA & Kota Ibushi
Cliff Walters: This has awesome written all over it. I don’t know anything about Nakajima, but we’re very familiar with the other three. I’m going to pick Marufuji and Nakajima to go over, mostly because Marufuji has that ROH Title shot coming up.
Winner: Naomichi Marufuji & Katsuhiko Nakajima
Gregory Honay: This is going to be really good and I believe it’s the first time Marufuji and KENTA will be across the ring from one another in ROH, though I could be wrong about that. Anyway, not too familiar with the other guys but Ibushi seemed like kind of a job guy when he had his ROH run before, so I’m going to guess Marufuji and Nakajima pick up the win.
Winner: Naomichi Marufuji & Katsuhiko Nakajima
Ashling Flynn: KENTA was unable to come to the United States to work for ROH this year because he couldn't get his visa renewed, so with this presumably being his only shot to work in ROH in 2008, I think he should go over in order to keep him strong in case they are able to bring him back for a run in 2009.
Winner: KENTA & Kota Ibushi
Stuart Carapola: I have to think that since Marufuji is getting an ROH Title shot in the near future, and since this is on an ROH show, Marufuji needs to go over, and I would put him over KENTA to win the match and just give him that last little push to solidify him as a strong contender.
Winner: Naomichi Marufuji & Katsuhiko Nakajima
Final Tally: 3-1 for Naomichi Marufuji & Katsuhiko Nakajima
ROH World Title Match: Nigel McGuinness vs Jimmy Jacobs
Cliff Walters: I don’t think for a second that Jacobs has a chance of winning this one. He’s a great talker and works in the role he’s in, but he’s not ready for the World Title.
Winner: Nigel McGuinness
Gregory Honay: Does Jimmy Jacobs have what it takes to be ROH World Champion? I think he’s a good talker and would definitely be a heat magnet, but this will be a good test for whether he can keep up in the ring in some fashion other than an all out brawl. He won’t win, but this will be interesting to watch when the DVD comes out.
Winner: Nigel McGuinness
Ashling Flynn: The idea of Jimmy Jacobs winning the ROH World Title is an interesting one, but I just don't see it happening. For one, the fans would turn on it even worse than they turned on Nigel, but also I think Nigel's got a bit more steam before it's time for him to drop the title.
Winner: Nigel McGuinness
Stuart Carapola: I'm as big a fan of Jimmy Jacobs as the next guy, and I've thought for a while that he has the tools to be ROH World Champion, and I stand by that. Do I think he's got a real shot at winning here, though? Probably not.
Winner: Nigel McGuinness
Final Tally: 4-0 for Nigel McGuinness
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So there you have it. I hope the zero of you reading this who will be attending enjoy the show, and for everybody else, thanks for reading and make sure to send your feedback directly to stupwinsider@yahoo.com. See you soon!
